We had a friend come to us the other day wanting to find a replacement for an old Square D relay.

Square D relay??? Man, that system is from the ’50s. This seemed like it might be impossible, but actually, it’s not. Back in the 50’s, Square D sold some(or all, not 100% sure) of its low voltage line to Pass&Seymour. Pass and Seymour manufacture the modern version of this relay in the 1070B. The old Square D catalog number was 1070A.

Anyway, as you can see from the picture below, the 1070A and B are virtually identical. The only real difference is that the 1070B has a slightly larger shaft, but with its thinner nylon retaining ring, it should fit in the panel as intended. On the inside, the upgrades are somewhat more significant. The old 1070A was AC only. The 1070B can differentiate AC/DC, and the new relay can handle 20Amps, while the old one was rated at 15.

Check out our link to the right (MyElectric) to purchase this relay.

LED Lamps – as in light bulbs?

Yes, they are here. But you wont be seeing familiar names like Panasonic, Sylvania or Philips yet, maybe never.

Many of you might know of LED (Light Emitting Diode) lighting from those swirling, glowing toys at dance parties, or maybe the occasional flashlight which sports them. But now, you can use that technology in your home for everyday (and night) light! However, because this industry is still in its infancy, you might want to take a moment’s pause before committing yourself to this phenomenon.

There are no established standards yet for these bulbs, and as such, they vary as much in form as in function. Essentially, the LED lamp works like the now-popular CFL bulbs in that their power conversion devices are built-in to the bulb fixture itself. A CFL lamp has a built-in ballast, and and LED lamp has a built-in transformer. It took a long time for the industry to adjust to the consumers’ desires for the CFL, and in turn it will take a while for LED lamps to fulfill their needs.

Still, this is a step in the right direction. LEDs (as they are promoted) offer upwards of 50,000 hours of life, compared to (some) CFL’s claims of up to 10,000 hours. Also, the LEDs claimed wattages are much lower than those of the fluorescent persuasion.

One manufacturer claims that its’ PAR30 lamp with a brightness of “SUPER BRIGHT” runs at a paltry 7W. Now, back to the “no established standards” subject: What is SUPER BRIGHT? I have no idea. It seems that LED light output is either measured in a different scale than we are used to (lumens or candlepower), or the reason could be that the outputs just don’t stand up to those of other lighting methods, making manufactuers get creative when marketing their products.

But still, lower power consumption and longer lamp life is a great goal to be headed toward. We will post more in about a week or so after we’ve done more research on manufacturers of LED lamps.

-Copied with permission from BrightLED.info

Well, Touchplate decided to get rid of it!

Relax though… there is a quick and painless workaround.

This is from the website myelectric.net:

“Although the 4000-PL is not an official direct replacement for the discontinued 2500-B, 2500-BPL, it has been verified by the manufacturer that this unit (4000-PL) can be used. The only real difference is that the 4000-PL has high voltage screw-terminals, where the 2500 already had some #12 wire connected. In fact, if you are using the 4000 to replace the 2500-BPL, its (in almost every way) a direct replacement.

If you are using the 4000-PL to replace a 2500-B (without the modular plug), then you will need to cut the plug off of the end of the 4000-PL. Touchplate says it will substitue just fine, both yellow wires are for the pilot, and the red and brown are the switch wires. For the high voltage side, you will need to screw in your wire. (#10 max.)

You’ll really only run into trouble if your current panel is packed full. The base of the 4000-PL is about 3/4″ wider (see picture below) to accomodate the screw-in terminals on the high voltage side.”

So, you can see that there is no cause for panic, any old Touchplate systems which you are still maintaining will be, well, maintainable for quite some time.

Of course, if your system looks like the picture below, you might want to consider making some changes. =)